Stay release

ABSTRACT

Stay release interconnects securing point on the deck of a sailboat and a releasable stay for quickly and easily releasing the stay for disconnection and for reconnecting the releasable stay.

nited States Patent [191 Joensen [451 Feb. 18, 1975 STAY RELEASE [76]Inventor: Richardt Joensen, 1701 Washington Way, Apt. 12, Marina delRey, Calif. 90291 22 Filed: Nov. 21, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 417,810

[52] 11.8. CI. 114/108, 114/217 [51] Int. Cl B63h 9/04 [58] Field ofSearch.. 24/71 R, 71 ST, 71 T, 71 CT, 24/68 E, 248 B; 9/2 S; 114/89,108-109,

llll 15, 202, 204-205, 210, 213, 215-217 [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS Keith 9/2 S 12/1966 ll/l971 Sevey [14/109 Russell 114/109Primary Examiner-Trygve M. Elix Assistant Examiner-Jesus D. So'teloAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Allen A. Dicke, Jr.

[57] ABSTRACT Stay release interconnects securing point on the deck of asailboat and a releasable stay for quickly and easily releasing the stayfor disconnection and for reconnecting the releasable stay.

6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTED FEB 1 8 I975 SHEET 10F 2 HI MH HHHSTAY RELEASE BACKGROUND This invention is directed to a quick releasemechanism including levers for the quick release and connection ofreleasable stays on sailboats.

The mast of sailboats must be supported with respect to the hull. Thisis conveniently accomplished by various types of stays. Sometimes, astay is necessary to provide adequate mast support under some runningconditions, but under other conditions, the release of that stay isnecessary. This is true of backstays where the boom is too long topermit installation of a permanent backstay. Furthermore, runningbackstays are sometimes used to provide the additional support necessaryin connection with the employment of larger sails during reaching andrunning.

Prior release mechanisms for running backstays and similar staysincluded block and tackle structures for tightening and loosening therunning backstay. Another structure includes a lever pivotally mountedupon the deck with lever operation permitting tightening and looseningof the running backstay structure. Still another attachment and releasemechanism for such stays includes the pelican hook, which permitsattachment and release; however, such pelican hooks are normally of suchstructure that there is insufficient stroke to accomplish anysubstantial pulling in of the stay to tension it or permit its releasefor convenient disconnection. Such pelican hooks normally do not have acomfortable structure to engage by hand for ease of operation.

SUMMARY In order to aid in the understanding of this invention, it canbe stated in essentially summary form that it is directed to a stayrelease. The stay release comprises a toggle mechanism for manualoperation with one end adapted to be connected to a releasable stay, andthe other end adapted for connection to a deck fitting. The togglemechanism has sufficient stroke and sufficient manually operable areafor convenient operation.

It is thus an object of this invention to provide a stay release forreleasable stay on a sailboat which is economic to manufacture, easy touse, and is of long-life. It is a further object to provide a stayrelease which includes a toggle mechanism so that, when pulled intotensioned position, longitudinal force on the stay release causes it toremain in the tensioned position. It is another object to provide a stayrelease which is suitable for use with a running backstay or areleasable inner forestay. It is still another object to provide a stayrelease which is fast and easy to operate. It is a further object toprovide a stay release toggle mechanism which provides for substantiallyconstant tension, with an increasing mechanical advantage withincreasing tension on the stay during tightening of the stay. It is afurther object to provide a stay release which is easy to install andwhich provides no substantial obstruction on the deck. It is yet anotherobject to provide a stay release which has a sufficiently largeoperating stroke for convenient attachment and release of releasablestay.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent froma study of the following portion of the specification, the claims, andthe attached drawmgs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side-elevational view of asailboat employing the stay release of this invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side-elevational view of the stay releasestructure shown in the closed position.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the stay release in the openposition.

FIG. 4 is a view of the release in the closed position, seen generallyalong the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION In its preferred use, the stay release of this invention isemployed on a sailboat. To illustrate the environment and utility of thestay release, FIG. 1 illustrates sailboat 10 having mast 12. In order tosupport mast 12 with respect to the hull of the sailboat, forestay l4and backstay 16 are employed in modern practice. Boom 18 is pivoted tothe mast at its forward end to that a triangular sail can be mountedbetween the boom and the mast. The boom is sufficiently short to clearbackstay 16. Thus, the triangular mainsail lies forward of backstay 16.Similarly, forestay 14 can carry a jib thereon. The jib conventionallyruns on fittings which embrace the forestay.

When reaching or running, the sailboat has additional stress on the mastcaused by sail forces in the forward direction. In heavier windconditions, it is desirable to connect a running backstay 20 from themast to the after portion of the boat hull, preferably on the windwardside. Usually running backstay 20 has its mast end connected below themast tip and has its lower end connected to the hull forward of the aftend of boom 18. Thus, running backstay 20 is in the way of the boom whenon the other tack. Thus, it must be disconnected when sailboat 10 isunder other sailing conditions. Usually there are two running backstays,one on each side of the sail for connection to each side of the hull.Stay release 22 of this invention provides quick connection and releaseof the stay.

Inner forestay 24 is provided so that sailboat 10 can be operated withtwo conventional jibs. One jib is run up forestay l4, and the other isrun up inner forestay 24. However, in other sailing conditions, it maybe desirable to run a single genoa-type jib on forestay 14. With a genoajib, it would be difficult to bring the jibs clew around inner forestay24. Thus, inner forestay 24 is equipped with stay release 26, of thesame structure as stay release 22. When stay release 26 is employed,when running a genoa jib on forestay l4, inner forestay 24 can bereleased and restrained close to the mast so that tacking the genoa jibis convenient.

The particular structure of stay releases 22 and 26 is shown in detailin FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. Stay release 22 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 in theclosed, stay-holding position. In FIG. 2, running backstay 20 is seen asbeing connected to turnbuckle 28 which is used for adjusting the lengthof the backstay. The lower end of turnbuckle 28 is engaged throughconnecting; hole 30 in the upper end of upper link 32. Lower link 34 hasring 36 secured to the lower end. Conventional snap shackle 38, see FIG.2, is secured to ring 36 and is selectively engageable in deck fitting40. Deck fitting 40 is in the form of a loop through which the tongue ofsnap shackle 38 can extend. When the snap shackle is engaged, its tongueis held in place by the manually operable pin indicated in FIG. 2.

Toggle link 42 is pivoted to both upper link 32 and lower link 34. FIG.3 illustrates the position of the pivot point between the links, andFIG. 4 illustrates additional detail of the links. Upper link 32 is asingle flat, elongated rectangular bar. It carries a hand-hold 44thereon. At its lower end, upper link 32 has pivot pin 46 by which it ispivoted to toggle link 42. Toggle link 42 actually comprises first andsecond spaced elongated rectangular bars 48 and 50. The rectangular barsare secured together at their upper end by hand-hold 52. Lower link 34is formed of rectangular bars 53 and 54. The bars are joined at theirlower end by ring 36. At their upper end, they are respectively pivotedto bars 48 and 50 by means of pivot pins 56 and 58, which lie on acommon axis. As seen in FIG. 2, the longitudinal center line throughstay release 22 is through ring 36 and connecting hole 30. When the stayrelease is in the shortened, closed position of FIG. 2, hand-holds 44and 52 lie together and provide a limit stop. Pivot pin 46 is above thecenter line, as seen in FIG. 2, and the axis of pivot pins 56 and 58 isbelow the center line, as seen in FIG. 2. Thus, when in the closedpostion with the application of tension, the toggle is locked in theclosed position. Furthermore, hand-holds 44 and 52 can be latchedtogether to prevent accidental dislodgment.

When release is desired, when the major tension is removed from thestay, any whipping is removed from the hand-holds, and hand-hold 52 ispulled away. The size of the hand-holds permit large area grasp, bothfor disconnection and connection. Once the toggle link is pulled backpast the toggle point, the stay release opens easily under stay tension.The open position is shown in FIG. 3. Once released, snap shackle 38 canbe opened so that the running backstay can be secured in a convenient,out-of-the-way postion. Stay release 26 is identical in structure andoperation. Thus, both stays 20 and 24 can be quickly and easilyreleased. Reconnection is also easily achieved by connected snap shackle38 and making it fast with the stay release in the open position. Now,the stay release is closed from the H6. 3 to the FIG. 2 position. Theclosing is enhanced by the use of large area hand-holds.

This invention having been described in its preferred embodiment, it isclear that it is susceptible to numerous modifications and embodimentswithin the ability of those skilled in the art and without the exerciseof the inventive faculty. Accordingly, the scope of this invention isdefined by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A sailboat having a hull and a mast extendingupcomprising:

an upper link, a lower link, and a toggle link, said toggle link beingpivotally mounted to both said upper link and said lower link;

connection means on said upper link connecting said upper link to saidremovable stay; connection means on said lower link for removableconnection to said hull of said sailboat, said connection means definingan axis through said stay release, said toggle link being pivotallyconnected to said upper link adjacent the lower end of both said upperlink and said toggle link, said toggle link being pivoted to said lowerlink adjacent the upper end of said lower link and intermediate the endsof said toggle link, said pivot between said upper link and said togglelink, and said pivot between said lower link and said toggle link bothbeing off said axis when said toggle link is in its raised position;

an upper hand-hold secured to the upper end of said upper link and atoggle hand-hold secured on the upper end of said toggle link, saidhand-hold acting as stops to limit motion of said toggle link in theclosed direction to a position wherein said toggle link liessubstantially along said axis.

2. The stay release of claim 1 wherein said toggle link is formed offirst and second bars, said toggle link handle being connected to bothof said toggle link bars and maintaining spacing between said togglelink bars, said upper link lying between said toggle link bars when saidtoggle link is in its closed position, said pivot between said togglelink and said upper link comprising a pivot pin extending through bothof said toggle link bars and said upper link.

3. The stay release of claim 2 wherein said lower link comprises firstand second lower link bars, said lower link bars being respectivelypositioned outside of said first and second toggle link bars, a firstlower bar pivot pin extending between said first lower bar and saidfirst toggle link bar and a second lower link pivot pin extendingbetween said second toggle bar and said second lower link bar, saidfirst and second lower bar pivot pins lying substantially on the sameaxis.

4. The stay release of claim 3 wherein said means for connecting saidlower link of said stay release comprises a connector secured to thelower end of both said first and second bars of said lower link.

5. The stay release of claim 4 wherein said connector is a U-shapedconnector.

6. The stay release of claim 1 wherein said handholds lie adjacent eachother when said stay release is in its closed position and saidhand-holds extend respectively beyond said upper link and said togglelink so that said hand-holds can be temporarily tied together to securesaid stay release in its closed position.

1. A sailboat having a bull and a mast extending upward from said hull, a stay secured to said mast and extending toward said hull, a stay release interconnected between said stay and said hull for the quick release of the stay so that sails may be employed in the position occupied by the stay before its release, said stay release comprising: an upper link, a lower link, and a toggle link, said toggle link being pivotally mounted to both said upper link and said lower link; connection means on said upper link connecting said upper link to said removable stay; connection means on said lower link for removable connection to said hull of said sailboat, said connection means defining an axis through said stay release, said toggle link being pivotally connected to said upper link adjacent the lower end of both said upper link and said toggle link, said toggle link being pivoted to said lower link adjacent the upper end of said lower link and intermediate the ends of said toggle link, said pivot between said upper link and said toggle link, and said pivot between said lower link and said toggle link both being off said axis when said toggle link is in its raised position; an upper hand-hold secured to the upper end of said upper link and a toggle hand-hold secured on the upper end of said toggle link, said hand-hold acting as stops to limit motion of said toggle link in the closed direction to a position wherein said toggle link lies substantially along said axis.
 2. The stay release of claim 1 wherein said toggle link is formed of first and second bars, said toggle link handle being connected to both of said toggle link bars and maintaining spacing between said toggle link bars, said upper link lying between said toggle link bars when said toggle link is in its closed position, said pivot between said toggle link and said upper link comprising a pivot pin extending through both of said toggle link bars and said upper link.
 3. THe stay release of claim 2 wherein said lower link comprises first and second lower link bars, said lower link bars being respectively positioned outside of said first and second toggle link bars, a first lower bar pivot pin extending between said first lower bar and said first toggle link bar and a second lower link pivot pin extending between said second toggle bar and said second lower link bar, said first and second lower bar pivot pins lying substantially on the same axis.
 4. The stay release of claim 3 wherein said means for connecting said lower link of said stay release comprises a connector secured to the lower end of both said first and second bars of said lower link.
 5. The stay release of claim 4 wherein said connector is a U-shaped connector.
 6. The stay release of claim 1 wherein said hand-holds lie adjacent each other when said stay release is in its closed position and said hand-holds extend respectively beyond said upper link and said toggle link so that said hand-holds can be temporarily tied together to secure said stay release in its closed position. 